Tagged HEADLINES

Rabbi’s Corner: One Of the Greatest Moments in TV History

There he is, totally oblivious to what is about to happen. He is caught in the spotlight, bewildered, in his own world. The whole studio audience stands. Nicholas Winton, on the front row, has no idea until someone taps him on the shoulder and asks him to turn. Only… Read more »

Tucson City Council to Discuss Ceasefire Resolution

Rabbi Malcolm Cohen speaks during the “call to the audience” at the March 19 Tucson City Council meeting. (Photo courtesy Hava Leipzig Holzhauer)

The Tucson City Council will discuss a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza at its Tuesday, April 9 study session. Study sessions precede the council’s formal meetings. At the March 19 study session, council member Lane Santa Cruz requested a 20-minute discussion of the topic be added to… Read more »

Yom HaShoah Community Commemoration to Take Place May 5

Please join local Holocaust survivors and their families as we come together in community to memorialize the tragedy and loss of the Holocaust and to pay tribute to those who survived and the generations that have followed after them. This special observance will take place at 2:00 p.m. on… Read more »

Passover Seders and Catering at Handmaker

Handmaker has been providing kosher meals to its residents and the community for 60 years, and Passover-time is no exception. At Handmaker, Passover is observed to the full extent. This huge endeavor requires the cooperation of staff, residents, and family members. The days and weeks leading up to Passover… Read more »

A Look at Arts + Culture this Spring at the Tucson J

From the Song of Songs, we find a beautiful text elaborating on the beauty of spring. “For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers are seen in the land. The time of the nightingale is come, and the voice of the turtle dove… Read more »

Hillel is Home for UArizona Student

Hey everyone! My name is Zach “Schwally” Schawelson and I have been a Jewish student at the University of Arizona for the past FIVE years! I study engineering and when I’m not stressing about homework, projects, or finals, I spend my time at the Hillel building. During my 5… Read more »

Rabbi’s Corner: Our Social Compass

Our time in this world is replete with activity, full of action, and fraught with responsibilities. Yet, there are not many things we do more in life than interact with those around us.  As the day and age in which we live gets progressively more distant, those constant interactions… Read more »

Winter Residents Happy Hour Will Be Chance to Mingle

Tucson’s Jewish community has long been deemed “mid-sized” by Jewish Federations of North America, the umbrella group for almost 150 Jewish Federations. That designation is borne out by the divergent perspectives of two winter residents. For Larry Selig of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona (JPSA) is… Read more »

Tucson Doctors Lend Their Skills, Support to Israel

“Resilience” is the word Dr. David Siegel, a Tucson neurologist, heard most often from Israelis during a solidarity mission last month with the American Healthcare Professionals and Friends for Medicine in Israel, or APF. “The absolute resilience of the many Israelis I had the privilege to talk and interact… Read more »

Ceremony Honors Rescue of Holocaust Torah Scrolls

A commemorative service in Phoenix on Sunday, Feb. 25, included Torah scrolls from two Tucson congregations. Both are Czech Memorial Scrolls that were collected by the Nazis during the Holocaust, warehoused in a ruined synagogue in Prague following the 1948 Communist coup, and finally rescued and brought to the… Read more »

New Torah Center Aims to Expand Jewish Learning in Tucson

In August 2023, six young rabbis, recent graduates of the Rabbinical Seminary of America in Queens, New York, moved to Tucson with their wives and children to start the Tucson Torah Center (TTC). The TTC offers one-on-one and group Torah study for men and daily minyanim, plus classes and… Read more »

The Tucson J Expands Healthy Aging Programs with New Offerings Focused on Cognitive, Physical, and Social Needs

Under the leadership of Amy Dowe, Sr. Director of Wellness and Linda Travis, PsyD, Aging Adult Program Specialist, the Tucson J’s Healthy Aging suite of programs is growing to meet the diverse needs of older adults in Tucson and Pima County. With one in five people over 65 years… Read more »

‘Challah Prince’ to Come to Tucson March 7

On March 7, the Jewish Community Relations Council for Tucson & Southern Arizona, the Weintraub Israel Center, the Tucson J, Tucson Hebrew Academy (THA) and Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center (TJMHC) will host Idan Chabasov, professionally known as the Challah Prince, at THA. A wildly popular social media… Read more »

The Tucson and Southern Arizona Community is Celebrating 18 Years of PJ Library

Did you know that PJ Library turns 18 years this year? On Sunday, March 3, PJ Library in Southern Arizona will host an 18th Birthday Bash for PJ Library. The Birthday Bash is made possible thanks to a grant from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. The Birthday Bash is free and… Read more »

Handmaker Receives Grant Funding for Assisted Living Updates

Handmaker was recently awarded a half-million-dollar grant for updates to both the Rubin and Tynan Assisted Living Neighborhoods to enhance the health, safety, and overall experience of residents living in these neighborhoods. Handmaker CFO, Travis Wissinger, applied for and received an ARP AHCCCS (Adult HealthCare Cost Containment System) Grant.… Read more »

Memories of Tucson’s Brandes School Preserved at Arizona Historical Society

Alumni of the Brandes School, their children, and their grandchildren will find a treasure trove of photos and other memorabilia at the Arizona Historical Society’s archive in Tucson. Raphael “Ray” Brandes, an early leader of Tucson’s Jewish community, and his wife, Elsie, started the boarding school for children with… Read more »

Of Blessed Memory: Arlene Zuckerman

Arlene Zuckerman passed away quietly February 16, 2024. She will be missed greatly by many, including her husband of 65+ years, Marty, children Leslie (Mike), Debbie (Bill), brother Larry (Suzi) and grandchildren Dustin, Samantha, David and Ember. Arlene was preceded in death by her sister Lee (Stan). Arlene is… Read more »